Theater: In last show, Zeitgeist Stage puts gun-violence in spotlight with 'Trigger Warning'

Jody Feinberg The Patriot Ledger

Tuesday

Apr 9, 2019 at 2:39 PMApr 10, 2019 at 7:53 PM

During its 18 years, Zeitgeist Stage Company has won awards for its thought-provoking plays about difficult contemporary political and social issues. And though the company is disbanding at the end of May for financial reasons, it remains true to its identity in its final drama, “Trigger Warning,” which runs April 12- May 4 in the Plaza Black Box Theater at Boston Center for the Arts.

“Trigger Warning,” which founder and artistic director David Miller commissioned from playwright Jacques Lamarre, is the story of a mass shooting at a Connecticut high school and its devastating impact on the family of the teenage murderer, who shot 50 people before killing himself. Lamarre lives near Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman murdered 20 children and six adults in a December 2012 shooting. Lamarre said he wrote the play after reading, “A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy,” a memoir by Sue Klebold, whose son Dylan Klebold perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre in May 1999.

In “Trigger Warning,” Lamarre explores gun control, mental health, brain science, parenting and community. For many years, Jackie and Murph recognized that their son, Travis, was deeply troubled, and they pursued multiple avenues to get him help. Murph, a hunter who locked up his guns, never imagined that their high school senior would break into the lock and steal the guns to kill others and himself. They are guilt-ridden and see their family further fractured when their daughter, Meghan, becomes an anti-gun activist, after recovering from wounds caused by her her brother’s massacre. Shunned by their friends, church and larger community, they also face class-action lawsuits.

“There’s empathy for the family as the play explores culpability and responsibility,” Miller said. “It’s heartbreaking to see how they are shunned and feel such pressing guilt. They are ordinary parents who tried to do their best and are put into an extraordinary situation. They struggled to find the thing that worked.”

At the same time, the play is a call to action for banning assault weapons and reducing the influence of the National Rifle Association, not withstanding its recognition of the father’s viewpoint that gun owners can be responsible.

“My father was a hunter and we had guns in the house, so I understand that perspective,” Miller said. “But every time there is a shooting, politicians offer 'hopes and prayers' and say ‘Now is not the time to talk about it.’ It needs to be talked about and addressed, and I hope audiences will find the play cathartic and helpful. I also hope audiences think about how you shouldn’t judge someone unless you’ve walked their path.”

Miller, 61, said he feels bittersweet about the closing of Zeitgeist Stage Company, which has presented three plays a year on a shoestring budget and won Elliot Norton and Independent Reviewers of New England awards and nominations. The Norton awards are Boston's version of the Tony's. But the company, which depends largely on ticket sales, started to struggle financially several years ago when sales began to drop dramatically. Miller said he will miss the theater, but also welcomes the time to travel and to run his South End bed and breakfast.

“Some small theaters in Boston are struggling and some are doing OK,” Miller said. “We tend to do plays that have a political bend and over the last few years Trump fatigue has set in, and people want entertainment to be more distracting because the news cycle is so distressing. I programmed a few comedies to get people in the door, but couldn’t build up the base again. It’s a hard scene for a fringe theater.”

Reach Jody Feinberg at jfeinberg@patriotledger.com. Follow her on Twitter@JodyF_Ledger.